Things can Only get Better
5/3/14
As readers of my weekly positive newsletter
will know, there has been a huge surge in the volume of Israel’s medical
discoveries, scientific advances, agricultural innovations, water technology and
humanitarian activities recently.
Despite the chaos in many other countries, I believe that better times
are on their way for the rest of the world.
Israel’s medical innovations are making a
better life for everyone. The
announcement of Israel Technion’s plans to establish an International Center
for Cardiovascular Innovation will lead to better
ways to treat heart disease – the world’s leading cause of death. For Israeli Danny Oberman, his 2013 cardiac
“incident” led him to develop the GPS-based CathMaps plus
- a
better method for Android and iOS smartphone users to find the nearest
catheterization lab and share their medical history with cardiologists.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
has better
knowledge than most of what visiting foreign Heads of State want from
the Jewish State. As he told delegates
at the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, their
three requirements are “Israeli technology, Israeli technology and Israeli
technology.” For example, Finnish
Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen cites as his model Israel's success as a
"start-up" nation brimming with high-tech innovation. Finland has been purchasing millions of
Euros of Israeli
technology. Similarly,
relations between Israel and Cyprus have
never been better, according to Cyprus’ Foreign Minister Ioannis
Kasoulines. There is good cooperation
on security, energy, water management, science and technology.
Over 70 young Israeli entrepreneurs showed
United Nations representatives better
solutions for global problems at the Israeli Designed International
Development (ID2) conference in Caesarea.
Innovations demonstrated included plants that give off light at
night. Meanwhile, Israel’s Evogene has
launched PoinTar, a computationally based target discovery platform for
generating better
herbicides. It identifies key
molecules that can be chemically targeted to prevent weed growth. Staying with agro technology, India’s Dr.
Akhilesh Kumar came to work at Israel’s Vulcani Agricultural Research Institute
in order to develop better
strains of potatoes and solar-powered storage in order to feed India’s
hungry population all year round.
Angola’s population will appreciate the better
quality drinking water that will flow from fifty filtration systems to
be supplied by Israel’s Amiad Water Systems. Amiad also just won one of Israel’s
Outstanding Exporter awards.
California, in the grip of its most severe drought since 1977, will
be far better off once it completes the Israeli-designed desalination
plant near San Diego. Israel’s IDE Technologies is one of the main engineering
contractors building the largest desalination plant in the Western Hemisphere.
Israel has been proficient recently in
developing better battery technologies.
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem has boosted
the power of sodium-ion batteries with a new type of anode. Also Israel’s EnStorage received nearly 1
million dollars as a BIRD Foundation grant for its Hydrogen Bromide
flow battery development.
Meanwhile Professor Doron Aurbach of Bar Ilan University won the
prestigious 2014 International Battery Association Yeager Award for advancing
battery technology, especially rechargeable
magnesium batteries.
Israeli apps are currently rated better
than ever. Israeli
cyber-security companies received
eleven awards at the RSA Security Conference in San Francisco, including
Votiro, which won gold in the “Innovations in Next Generation Security”
category. At the Mobile World Congress
in Barcelona Israeli companies picked
up five awards. Israel’s
PointGrab’s CamMe won “most
innovative app” with EverythingMe one of five finalists. Wibbitz won “best
mobile publishing product or service” for its unique text-to-video
technology.
There is just enough room to wish Mazel Tov
to my friend, Tel Aviv Radio TLV1’s DJ Antithesis who has found his “better
half” and is getting married this week. There should be some great music at his wedding. And Israel’s soccer fans will hope for better
results from its national team with its favorable draw in the
qualifying stages of the 2016 European Nations Cup.
I want to leave you with the knowledge that
it is the dedication of the people of Israel that makes life better for
everyone. The staff at Israel’s Beit
Issie Shapiro are bringing a better tomorrow to those born with both severe
mental and physical disabilities. You would hardly believe that children like Roni, Eytan, Nevo and Liora
could, for example, learn to use iPads to help them develop to their full
potential. You can also help Beit Issie
and Eytan by sponsoring his dad in the London marathon.
Finally two mature Israeli professors have
been busy throughout their lives making a better world for all of us. Whilst at
Israel’s Weizmann Institute, molecular geneticist Professor Michel Revel
developed treatments for MS, ALS and
diabetes. Now at 75 years of
age, he works at his own biotech company Kadimastem developing pluripotent stem
cells as a regenerative medicine solution for all three diseases. And I hope that you will find a new
biography about renowned Israeli cardiac surgeon Professor Joseph Borman
particularly heartwarming. “Open Hearts: A Memoir” describes how during the
1967 Six-Day War he saved the life of critically injured soldier Doron
Lancet. Doron eventually went on to
lead the Israeli team that helped map the human genome to give us a
better understanding of the causes of genetic diseases.
Are we on the way up?
You’d better believe it!
Michael Ordman writes a free weekly newsletter
containing positive news stories about Israel.
For a free subscription, email a request to
michael.goodnewsisrael@gmail.com
